Democrats Secure Control of Both Chambers of Congress in 2026 Midterm Elections

Democrats won majorities in both the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate in the November 4, 2026, midterm elections, according to Associated Press projections. The party secured at least 240 seats in the 435-member House and at least 54 seats in the 100-member Senate, with races in Alaska and Mississippi still too close to call on November 5. Republicans held neither chamber for the first time since 2023.

House Democrats needed a net gain of three seats to take the majority. They flipped more than two dozen Republican-held districts, including seats in Iowa, Kansas, Texas, South Carolina and Ohio. No Democratic-held House seat flipped to Republicans in the initial results. In the Senate, Democrats flipped seven seats previously held by Republicans, including long-held seats in Kansas, Texas, Iowa and South Carolina. Kansas elected its first Democratic senator since 1932. Texas elected its first Democratic senator since 1988 and its first Democratic governor in decades.

Voters cited higher living costs, the ongoing conflict involving Iran and concerns about government performance as the main reasons for the shift. Vice President JD Vance wrote that the Iran war was the reason Republicans lost. President Donald Trump acknowledged the role of the conflict while saying the action had been necessary. Oil prices fell after the results as markets priced in a possible change in U.S. policy toward the conflict. The Nasdaq Composite dropped more than 5 percent on November 5 as investors worried that Democratic majorities in Congress and in state governments would slow the build-out of artificial-intelligence data centers.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said the results gave Democrats a mandate to pursue accountability. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said the new majority would work to end the conflict with Iran and that some Republican senators would support that course. Democrats plan investigations into the president's family business dealings and other matters once the 120th Congress convenes in January 2027. Trump retains the veto power for the remainder of his term.

In Texas, Democrat James Talarico defeated Attorney General Ken Paxton for the Senate seat. In Kansas, Adam Hamilton defeated incumbent Senator Roger Marshall. Other flips included seats in North Carolina, Ohio, Maine and Iowa. Several Republican strongholds that Trump carried by double digits in 2024 moved to Democrats. The final House margin will depend on the remaining uncalled races, but Democrats have already crossed the 218-seat threshold required for control.

The outcome reshapes the remaining two years of the Trump administration. Confirmation votes, spending bills and investigations will now require Democratic cooperation or face blocking majorities. State governments that flipped will also have new leverage over data-center permitting and energy policy. Markets and foreign governments are adjusting to the new balance of power in Washington while counting continues in the two undecided Senate races.